But even at that rate, Game of War has persistently trailed Supercell’s Clash of Clans. And so on that Sunday in early February, the two games did battle via media buys. Both were armed. Clash of Clans brought a rapier: Liam Neeson, with a witty, irony-laden riff on a dude addicted to his fantasy duels. Leydon brought a nuclear bomb: Kate Upton. She emerged from some kind of medieval hot tub, and, donning body armor in slow motion, plunged into a melee of monsters and knights.

Critics mocked Upton’s performance, naturally, but in the real world, Game of War trounced its enemy. In the hours after the Super Bowl, the mobile game, for a few hours at least, passed its rival, as measured by rankings from Apple’s App Store. Which is exactly what Leydon had hoped for when the company he founded and runs, Machine Zone, spent $40 million on a four-month campaign with Upton as its spokeswoman.